'S. Korea needs 2 THAAD batteries'
By Kim Hyo-jin
South Korea needs at least two Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) batteries to better defend itself from North Korea’s submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), a U.S. arms expert said Tuesday.
Jeffrey Lewis, director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS), warned of the possibility that the North’s submarines could attack South Korea out of the range covered by the THAAD radar to be deployed in the southeastern part of the country.
“THAAD has forward-looking radar with a 120-degree field of view. In the case of a single THAAD battery, North Korea’s submarines would not have to travel very far out to sea to attack the THAAD system from behind the field of view of its radar,” Lewis, also a founder of Arms Control Wonk, said in an article posted on the website.
“South Korea needs two THAAD batteries to better cover ocean approaches. That is an obvious solution to at least part of the problem posed by the KN-11.”
The analysis came after North Korea successfully test-fired the SLBM last week.
The missile, dubbed KN-11, flew about 500 kilometers toward Japan, making the longest flight by such a missile, according to the South Korean defense ministry.
The expert said it would offer North Korea a flexible system to threaten South Korea, noting the missile is solid-fueled which can shorten reaction and reload time from existing Scud missiles.
He also raised the possibility that the reclusive country could deploy the new ballistic missile as a land-based one, saying it already showed an example with the Russian SS-N-6 SLBM deployed as the Hwasong-10 strategic ballistic missile, also known as the Musudan.
Though he recommended two THAAD batteries to better defend the North’s missile attack, he stressed that it does little to address the possibility of its “lofted attacks.”
“Lofting a long-range missile results in reentry at very high speeds and at a very severe angle: Whether THAAD can deal with a lofted KN-11 depends in part on the missile’s range,” he said.
He pointed out that a THAAD unit has never been tested against an intermediate-range target, let alone on an unusual angle of attack.
THAAD is designed to intercept medium-range ballistic missiles (MRBMs) ― 1,000-3,000km in range ― and in theory should have some capability to intercept intermediate-range missiles (IRBMs) ― 3,000-5,500km.
The Pentagon’s testing office, the office of the Director, Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E), gives THAAD a good rating against MRBMs, but the lowest possible rating against IRBMs, the expert said.
He argued that considering that the last week’s SLBM was launched at a high angle, the missile would travel further than 500 km ― over 1,000 km and much further if fired at minimum trajectory.